


Storm

by CharWright5



Series: House of Wolves [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Character Development, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Original Character(s), Thunderstorms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 22:11:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11322726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharWright5/pseuds/CharWright5
Summary: Tore doesn't like storms. But Austin likes Tore, more than he probably should.





	Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Another exercise in character development, one that probably takes place somewhere within book two of the series. I think Rita asked for Austin and Tore fluff and... Welp...

Austin knew that in all technicalities, Tore was older than him by a good two centuries--something he didn't like to think about too much or else his head would spin and he'd find the whole thing so hard to deal with he'd freak out. At nearly thirty, Austin was now dealing with the fact that he was the younger one in his relationship--if what they had could even be called a relationship, all things considered--and by a significant amount of years, yet not in a weird cougar-cub kind of way--or whatever the gay equivalent of that would be, he had no idea.

But for all intents and purposes, Tore seemed younger than Austin. His unshaven baby face and hairless chest made him seem college aged, and his inexperience with relationships made him seem as though he was fresh out in the world, wide-eyed and bushy tailed and freaked out. Austin felt the urge to watch over and protect him, much like he did with his younger siblings--or two of them, anyway--a belief that he was somehow older and therefore wiser.

But then Tore would open his mouth and say all these things a college kid wouldn't know, or Austin would look in his eyes and see lifetimes in them that could only be there through age and experience. And while it was obvious the Wolf was new to dating--again, if that's what they even were--it was just as clear that he'd been through a lot of other shit in his long life, shit Austin would never known or understand or go through himself.

Mainly because it was seeking less likely that he had a whole lot of time left in order to go through it.

Laying in Tore's bed, staring up at the ceiling, he swallowed hard, feeling like the man in that Edgar Allen Poe poem about the swinging guillotine that was slowly but surely dropping down, getting ready to end his life at any moment. No one had explicitly said he was on death row but he knew deep in his bones that he was. Coyotes were threatening the Grizzlies and would continue to do so, especially if Brandon got his way and expanded their numbers. The best way to deal with a problem was to wipe it out.

The only reason he hadn't been killed yet was he still served some sort of use to the Wolves, had information or could be used as a bartering chip. That, plus the male in bed with him, most likely having argued his case on more than one occasion.

Thunder boomed overhead and the body next to him jerked before trembling more and scooting even closer. Not that it was all that possible. Tore was now halfway on top of Austin, head buried in his chest and comforter covering his entire body. He'd been shaking since the storm started, hell even before that, his wolf most likely sensing the change in atmosphere that preceded it. And now that it was fully raging outside with thunderous booms, bright flashes of lightning, and heavy rain, he was a wreck, vibrating worse than ever.

A smile played with Austin's lips and he fought to hide it, not wanting to give Tore the wrong impression. His arms were wrapped around a frame more lean than his own, Tore's idea of working out consisting of running to the main fridge in the kitchen before one of his own siblings noticed and dragged him into something he didn't want to be part of. Meanwhile, Austin had been raised in a boot camp like environment, woken up the moment the sun set and starting his all-nighter with a five-mile run. And while he couldn't get his legs stretched out like that while in the Wolves' custody, he was still up before the rest of the house.

Or most of it anyway. He always heard the sounds of another person somewhere moving about in much the same way he was.

Thunder clapped above once more, bringing Austin's attention back to the male currently in the room with him. Tore jerked and tried to shuffle even closer, now laying directly on top of Austin, and the Coyote spread his legs to accommodate him. Austin's heart pounded at the feel of bare skin on bare skin, Tore dressed only in a pair of Star Wars boxers while Austin donned a pair of borrowed Darth Vader ones. Seemed only fitting he'd wear the villain.

He could only hope for a redemption arc of his own.

Then again, Vader's redemption had cost him his life.

Seemed like that's where Austin's story was headed anyway. 

Trembling brought his focus back to the moment and he rubbed his hands up and down Tore's back, trying to bring some form of comfort, marveling in the fact that he could even do this. The first time he'd met the male, he'd been drawn to him, to his soothing words and the way he spoke to Austin like a person, not the animal he was trapped as while he healed. He remembered the feel of long fingers wrapped around his paw as he whimpered in pain and he'd longed to feel them against his bare skin instead.

Now Tore was the one whimpering and Austin was giving comfort, their roles reversed but no less sincere. If he had it his way, Austin would stay in that bed with Tore forever, fuck the world and those in it. Fuck his older brother, fuck the Grizzlies who labeled him a threat, and fuck the Wolves who saw him as an enemy.

Only he couldn't do any of that.

For starters, there was no way he would ever leave Troy and Teresa at the mercy of Brandon and Jack--not voluntarily anyway. And he knew there was no way Tore would give up his own siblings, regardless of any negative circumstances surrounding their upbringing.

Although from the glimpses Austin would get in Tore's eyes on occasion, he guessed things weren't always sunshine and roses for the Wolves either.

He swallowed hard against the thought, shoving it far outside the bubble he and Tore had created together, refusing to let it touch the peaceful sanctuary they'd stolen from the world. Neither knew how long it would last, how long they could stay in bed before someone came looking for either one of them, how long they could keep sneaking away to be together before someone caught them. It was better to revel in every hidden moment of daylight they could get as the rest of the mansion slumbered unaware.

Of course, it would be easier to revel and enjoy it if he didn't have a lean frame shaking against him.

"Hate to break it to ya," he drawled, voice thick with both his southern accent and the laziness of the afternoon. "But you need to get used to these random, out-of-nowhere thunderstorms. North Carolina is rampant with them in the summer."

A word in some foreign language Austin didn't recognize was breathed against his chest, tickling the patch of sandy hair between his pecs and making him chuckle at the emphasis behind it. Judging by context, it was a swear of some description, perfectly summing up how Tore felt about that.

"I hate the south," Tore retorted, his own voice muffled from the comforter pulled over his head, his own accent full of hints of where he'd lived over his life. France, Germany, Spain, England, Romania, Sweden, countless places Austin had only ever seen on a map and Tore had called them home at some point.

Meanwhile, home for Austin had been a too-small cabin in the woods with a room that felt more like barracks, shared with all three brothers, before Brandon had taken over the master bedroom when their father had passed.

Nope, wasn't gonna think about that. He shoved it away as he had thoughts of his impending elimination, focusing on the male in his arms and the smooth skin his fingers traced over. "Surely there's _something_ you like about this place," he drawled even more, emphasizing his own accent with a smirk, knowing the reaction it caused in Tore.

On cue, the Wolf shivered from something other than fear and his head popped up, hands flipping the comforter back just enough to show off the scowl on his face. "Not fair."

Austin shrugged a shoulder. "Don't know what you're talkin' about," he played, watching as teal and silver eyes narrowed further. "I jus' asked a simple question."

Those bright eyes rolled and he snorted in exasperation before sliding up Austin's more built frame. The Coyote gave a shudder of his own at the feel of skin smoothing over his own flesh, of his cock being rubbed through flimsy and oft-worn boxers.

Tore pretended not to notice, bringing his head close enough that Austin could smell his Mountain Dew flavored breath and feel every exhale from his nose, moving the comforter so it covered both of their heads. A secret hideaway within their hideaway. "I might be able to think of one or two things," he quipped, lips close enough to brush against Austin's as he spoke.

The tease had set his heart racing and he felt something inside him howl, felt something akin to a tail being wagged, and if he had one of his own, he'd probably be doing just that. But as it was, all he could do was exhale shakily, dragging his leg up along one of Tore's and hooking it just above his ass.

"Like what?" he murmured, content to play along, to tease.

Because neither one of them would say it, would acknowledge this thing between them. Because when they gave it a name, it became more powerful than the two of them combined, and also brought with it a sobering reminder that eventually, it would end.

Tore's eyes searched Austin's, that impossible shade of teal, the silver crescent in his right iris. He didn't say a word, just cupped Austin's cheek like he was something important, something precious, and the sensation felt heavy in the Coyote's chest after nearly three decades of being made to feel worthless, a failure. With nothing to say, Tore closed the distance, lips no longer hesitant or unsure like they had been in the beginning of their not-relationship.

Austin let his eyes slide shut and his mind empty of everything except Tore Tore _Tore_. There was no pendulum, no storm, no Wolves or Grizzlies or Coyotes. Just two men who felt something stronger than they could recognize, stealing another moment and not feeling an ounce of guilt over it.


End file.
